As I read, I fought the onset of tears.
Due to a rent increase, the day care was moving to a smaller facility. That meant a decrease in children they provided care for. Okay, since Kirin was starting school in the fall, but it also meant they no longer needed me. I wouldn’t have a job after August. I was expected to help the owners move everything to the new facility while finding someone to care for Kirin for the two weeks ST Kids Care Center would be closed to everyone. Then I had nothing.
“Daddy!” Kirin stomped out to the reception area, chuffing smoke with his arms crossed. “Emily said there’s no more chocolate milk.”
I bent down in front of him and pulled him into me, holding him tight. “It’ll be okay.” Though I meant the words more for myself, they seemed to calm my son as he relaxed against me.
“Can we see Blaze soon?” He cupped my cheeks and leaned his forehead against mine. “I miss him.”
“Me, too.” I rubbed his back. “And I think it would be a great idea to see him. Maybe we could visit him in Cloudhaven this weekend.” I didn’t know what else to do. Perhaps the letter and the whole situation was the push I needed to let go of Saramto and commit to Blaze, to let my dragon guide the way for once.
Kirin pulled away and clapped, his smile proof that he would have no issue with leaving the city to live with the alpha.
I tapped his bottom. “Okay, go back in and play. You’ll be fine without chocolate milk today. And no chuffing.”
“Okay.” He tottered back into the main play area while I tried to ground myself to deal with all the parents that would also be affected by the change.
When I had a free moment, I would update my résumé then text Blaze and see if his offer still stood to live with him in Cloudhaven. With that decision, my dragon settled for the first time since the alpha had moved away. Maybe Fate did exist and this was the push I needed.
Chapter Sixteen
Blaze
“This is it.” I pulled onto the shoulder of the road in front of the bungalow I was looking at buying. There were no curbs on this road in Cloudhaven, but there were on the streets on the south end of the town where all the new houses were being built.
After turning off my truck, I rushed around to the passenger side to open the door for Ladon. “What do you think?”
His eyes were wide, but I didn’t get a response before Kirin pushed his door open and leaped into my arms. He sniffed the air. “It smells different here. Smells like dragons.”
Ladon turned to face me with his eyebrows raised. “It does. Why is that? It’s not another Hawthorn, is it?”
I smiled. Although I’d seen Kirin chuff smoke, I’d never witnessed Ladon use any part of his dragon side. “There are many dragon shifters here. But unlike in Hawthorn, this town has other shifters living here, too. In fact, the mayor of the township is an armadillo shifter. And the principal of the school is a wolf shifter.”
“Oh, okay.” Ladon shoulders fell as he visibly relaxed. “This looks like a nice house. I like the fact that it’s right across the street from the school. That will be convenient for Kirin.”
I hoped it to be convenient for Ladon, too, but I would tell him about that part later. First, we had a house to tour.
The real estate agent pulled into the driveaway a moment later. I’d had to reschedule my original appointment so I could drive to Saramto to pick up the two others I wanted to live with me and wasn’t sure how long it would take us to get back.
“Mr. Gillinois, it’s good to see you again.” The agent, an omega dragon shifter, met us in the stamped concrete driveway of the house, with his leather crossbody bag over his shoulder.He reached for my hand and shook it. “This must be your family.”
I held my breath, waiting for Ladon to correct him, but he never did. The omegas shook hands then the agent guided us toward the house. It was a light-gray brick house with black shutters, white trim, a turquoise front door, and an attached garage. It stood out to me the first time I drove past it, and I hoped it appealed to Ladon the same way. Immediately inside was the living room, mostly open to the kitchen at the back. It had a larger island than the one in Ladon’s apartment, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to take him on its surface the way I had at his place.
“The owner of this house got a job in Torago and already bought a condo there, so he’s looking to sell as fast as possible.”
I swallowed down my ill-timed thoughts as the agent continued to tell us about the house.
“While there is only one full bathroom on the main floor with the three bedrooms, there is a second bathroom down in the finished basement with a separate laundry room and a two-piece bathroom in the garage.” He glanced at his sheet before looking up to gauge our reaction. “Out back, there’s a stamped concrete patio. Part of it is covered and the owner is leaving the working hot tub. It was just serviced before he moved.”
Ladon glanced at me with mixed emotions. I couldn’t tell if he loved it or wanted to leave. When Kirin raced down the stairs to the basement, we all followed him down to take a look. Eventually we saw the entire house, Ladon occasionally grabbing my hand in one of the rooms and other times wandering away much the same as his son. When we went outside, Kirin raced around the large, fenced yard, and I saw Ladon smile for the first time since we arrived.
“Do you like it?” I wrapped my arm around him and pulled him into my side as we stood on the patio. “Can you see us living here?”
“Yes.” His voice caught and I heard him sniffle. “But I don’t want to be dependent on you. I don’t want to be home alone while you’re at work and Kirin’s at school.”
As much I wanted to imagine Ladon settled on a nest of eggs or busy with hatchlings, I predicted he’d want to get settled in Cloudhaven first. “We’re going to meet someone else later that might be able to help you with that, but I wanted you to see the house first.”
He sniffled again and nodded. “Would it be weird if I told you I dreamed about this house?”
